Right now, though Ohio State is ranked No. 2 and Michigan is No. 4 going into Monday’s new polls, at least one national expert thinks Peppers is the conference’s strongest Heisman contender.

Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman ranked Peppers third and Barrett fifth in his new Heisman rankings, no doubt giving Peppers a boost after his two rushing TDs against Rutgers and Michigan’s defensive performance in the 78-0 win at Rutgers.

The Jersey native returned home to help the Wolverines blast Rutgers and Jim Harbaugh came away invoking the name of the legendary Jim Thorpe while trying to describe Peppers’ greatness. He ran for 74 yards on just three carries with two touchdowns. He also had half a TFL and a QB pressure. In addition, he delivered a dazzling punt return, although that was nullified by a penalty. On the season, he has 10 TFLs and is averaging over 20 yards per touch.

This is just another way of showing how much Ohio State and Michigan have controlled the college football talking points so far this season and going back to the summer. This new Heisman poll shows that’s not going to change soon.